Broward County Resident Appointed to President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities

Andrew J. Weinstein, Esq. and President Barack Obama

Andrew J. Weinstein, Esq. was recently appointed to the President's Committee on the Arts & Humanities. Weinstein, a managing partner at the Weinstein Law Firm, a position he has held since 1996, is a member of the Florida Panthers Advisory Board, the Board of Governors of the American Association for Justice, and the Board of Directors of the Florida Justice Association Board. He is also the Finance Chair of the Democratic Party of Florida. In 2011, he was listed among the Legal Elite by Florida Trend magazine, and has been named a Florida Super Lawyer by Super Lawyers magazine. Weinstein received a B.A. from the University of Central Florida and a J.D. from Nova Southeastern University.

Created in 1982 under President Reagan, the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities (PCAH) is an advisory committee to the White House on cultural issues. The PCAH works directly with the three primary cultural agencies - National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Institute of Museum and Library Services - as well as other federal partners and the private sector, to address policy questions in the arts and humanities, to initiate and support key programs in those disciplines and to recognize excellence in the field. Its core areas of focus are arts and humanities education, cultural exchange, and creative economy.

Calculations by NEA Office of Research & Analysis using data from U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and the U.S. Census Bureau

As reported by Brett Zongker of the Associated Press, the U.S.' creative industries led by Hollywood, CA, account for about $504 billion, or at least 3.2 percent of U.S. goods and services, the government said in its first official measure of how the arts and culture affect the economy.

Soon, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis and the National Endowment for the Arts will release the first-ever estimates of the creative sector's contributions to U.S. gross domestic product based on 2011 data, the most recent figures available. GDP measures the nation's production of goods and services.

Sunil Iyengar, the Endowment's research director, said the yardstick devised in partnership with the Bureau of Economic Analysis drew on figures from Hollywood, the advertising industry, cable TV production, broadcasting, publishing, performing arts and other areas. Now the nation's creative sector will be measured annually, much as statisticians calculate the contribution of tourism, health care and other sectors to the nation's economy.

"One of the challenges that's always been there for economists and even lay people and certainly policy makers is to understand what is the arts' value," Iyengar said. "Here's a measurable, legitimate, rigorous way of trackingthe contributions of the creative economy in the country."

By comparison, the arts and culture sector outpaced the U.S. travel and tourism industry, which was 2.8 percent of GDP in 2011, based on the federal estimate. That finding surprised even the researchers.

Museums and performing arts industries each employed about 100,000 people. In total, 2 million people worked in creative industries.

Analysts defined arts and cultural output based on creative artistic activity and the goods and services produced by it or used to support it. They also included the construction of buildings to house creative industries. Beyond entertainment and advertising, the analysis included independent artists, broadcasting, publishing of books, magazines and newspapers and design and architectural services.

The analysis will be updated each year, next in fall 2014 to include 2012 data.

Shop Art for the Holidays!

Time and time again, we, in the business of the arts, talk about the significance of an ‘arts’ dollar relative to the rest of the dollars in the economy. On many angles, an ‘arts’ dollar is lucrative, and shoppers can help to contribute to their local economy by ‘shopping art’ over the Holiday Season.

Whether it be a trip with an out-of-town friend to Bonnet House Museum & Gardens for a stroll or to listen to the evening, music series and art on the lawns of this historic beachside property; or indulging in the heady, flitter of thousands of butterflies at Butterfly World, there is always something relaxing and local to buy in the entertainment realm. Tickets to local productions or Broadway season passes and matinees, local crafts at the many weekend festivals, or the visual work of some of Broward County’s diligent artists, are just a few of theoptions. Coral Springs Museum of Art, the Art and Culture Center of Hollywood and Studio 18 in the Pines are world class arts and cultural facilities that give exposure and opportunity throughout the county as well.

As a local audience member you may start your holiday art spending into the community by hiring a babysitter for the evening, after purchasing a new pair of shoes or dress for an evening at the opera; or getting a manicure and pedicure before attending the local ballet. After leaving the house, you may spend money on gas, parking, dinner before or dessert and coffee later. And this does not yet include the price of the show ticket.

On the production side, a theater ‘arts’ dollar, is re-spent if paint or lighting is needed for sets, etc.; theater staff head off to the local hardware and will seek the customer service of a store clerk. The clerk in turn, has income to buy milk for his family and the milk has come from a vendor who gets paid from the grocery store. Within Broward County, these numbers calculate to the tune of $230 million in economic impact, and supports 6,402 jobs.

Add to this the knowledge that local arts organizations are good business citizens as they join community groups and get involved in the spirit and resilience of the community, and one may understand why we, in the business of arts and culture, think that an ‘arts’ dollar is one with higher value that its monetary amount.

Announcing the 2013 Broward County Winners of the Knights Arts Challenge

2013 Dia de los Muertos

Day of the Dead Celebration to ExpandPuppet Network - $40,000For the past four years, Puppet Network has presented a local celebration of the Latin American tradition of Dia de los Muertos, or Day of the Dead, combining traditional and modern interpretations of the event in a community spectacle: Giant puppets and skeleton-clad revelers parade in the streets, mask workshops are taught while kids and artists work collectively, and families design exquisite memorials to loved ones. With challenge funding, Puppet Network will expand its offerings, exhibitions and community arts workshops to additional locations beyond downtown Fort Lauderdale.

Conversation Series Demystifies the ArtsMiramar Cultural Trust - $12,000What inspires artists? What is the value in owning an original piece of artwork? What is the best way to build an artistic career? These and other issues will be explored during Art Speaks, a conversation series that encourages artistic expression and appreciation. Jo Marie Payton, a singer and actress who starred in the sitcom “Family Matters,” will host the series. Guests will include artists of all genres and will be given time to perform and answer questions from the audience. Participants gain insight into the world of the arts by interacting with artists in a setting that promotes conversation and the exchange of information.

FAU Professor Presents Multi-Media Opera“MelanchoLaLaLand” - $2,500To explore the fusion of art, music and technology, a new multimedia opera written by Florida Atlantic University Professor Joey Bargsten will be presented. “MelanchoLalaLand” integrates traditional elements of opera with past works on melancholy into a futuristic spectacle that showcases an experimental fusion of live performance, interactive video and animation.

Event celebrates the craft of Florida’s dugout canoesUpper Room Art Gallery - $30,000To preserve the traditional art form of creating dugout canoes by organizing a seasonal Paddle Up, featuring Seminole and Miccosukee canoes. The event on the Himmarshee Canal in Fort Lauderdale will highlight the heritage of the land and waters, inviting members of the Seminole, Miccosukee and other tribes to bring their canoes and wear traditional attire. Seminole artist Pedro Zepeda will demonstrate how to create a dugout canoe from a cypress log in downtown Fort Lauderdale where passersby can watch. The events will be tied to a neighborhood revitalization project called Las Olas Village, where indigenous design will be used throughout in cooperation with the tribes and the community.

The Pompano Beach Cultural Arts Master Plan will focus on opportunities for arts activities in facilities and venues that committed to current and future Cultural Arts activities. The website, PompanoBeachArts.com, offers online, interactive participation in the Cultural Arts Master Planning process.

Two cultural arts facilities will be operated by the City of Pompano Beach, a new Pompano Beach Cultural Center being designed for a Civic Campus in conjunction with a new Broward County Public Library and the existing Pompano Beach Amphitheater.

In addition, the Pompano Beach Community Redevelopment Agency (CRA) has made a commitment to the cultural arts through redevelopment and cultural use of two historic properties: The Hotel Bailey, in the Old Pompano commercial district; and the Ali Building, on Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd – both in Downtown Pompano. The CRA is promoting Downtown Pompano as a Creative Arts District.

The Sample-McDougald House (1916), now located at 450 NE 10th Street in Pompano Beach, is one of South Florida's most historic structures, dating from the pioneer era of northern Broward County.

Finally, the Master Plan will outline strategies for integrating Cultural Arts activities in other facilities and venues throughout the City.